Business
by themarshal
Summary: Thirty years after the invasion of Earth by the Reapers, life in the galaxy continues much as it always has, particularly on Omega.  Though there are still the occasional surprises.


_Just a little one-off story that I've had bouncing around in my head for a while. I used it as a kind of warm-up for the larger story that I'm writing. Still potentially canon with everything else I have planned, so it may find its way into the main work if I ever manage to write this far into the future._

_- MC_

* * *

Omega.

Supposed it means "the end of all things." In her experience, though, nothing ever _truly_ ended. Wars flare and burn themselves out. Peace is achieved, though never for long enough. Civilizations rise and collapse. Stars form and explode. The universe just... goes on. _We just have to make do with the time we have in it, _she thought to herself.

She stepped out of the landing platform onto the main thoroughfare and took in the sight before her. Well-armed mercenaries and slump-shouldered civilians criss-crossed paths beneath a smoky black sky, dotted with the dull glow of the light of distant skyscrapers. Merchants hawked their wares at the people briskly walking past. Conversations both hurried and hushed took place under every streetlight. _Yeah,_ she nodded. _Even at the end of all things, people are making do._

Before her, rising from the haze like a beacon was the glowing visage of Omega's most infamous club. _Afterlife_. Jets of flame belched forth from its surrounding pillars as seven-story high vids of barely clothed Asari dancers played across its face. She could feel the thump-thump-thumping of the dance music emanating from inside the club, like the rapidly beating heart of some giant beast.

She continued towards the club, her destination for this little excursion. She hadn't set foot on Omega in years, nearly a decade, but it seemed that no matter what else was going on in the galaxy, things on Omega were exactly as she remembered them. She strode by the line of people waiting to get into the club. _Same sorry bunch, always in line, never realizing why they'll never get in._ Cries of protest erupted as some in line noticed her walk right past them, entering _Afterlife's_ front doors without so much as a sideways glance at the bouncer or Aria's well-armed guards.

Her eyes scanned the long hallway, giant images of dancing flame rising on either side of her. She continued forward, catching snippets of hushed conversations as she passed. _Same conversations taking place in the same dark corners._ The interior doors slid open and she was immediately treated to a wave of lights, music, and heat. The lighting of _Afterlife's_ main level cast everything in a purple glow. The music was loud, but not nearly as oppressive as she remembered it being the first floor. There, you were just meant to get hammered and lose yourself on the dance floor. Here, you could still hear what you were thinking. She paused, taking in the scene around her. _Here, you got your drinks, grabbed a table, and paid some Asari to shake her..._ She stopped.

"Huh..." she muttered. She turned to face one of the tables, surrounded by a large group of humans and Turian who were all completely entranced by the blue Asari slowly gyrating her body to the music on the table before them. "Well that's certainly new..."

She slowly made her way towards the table to stand just behind one of the humans so engrossed by the display of dancing blue flesh. She folded her arms and cocked her head to one side, a look of mild amusement on her face. She shook her head and let out a little sigh as lips slowly curled into a smirk. After a few moments, one of the seated men finally took notice of the onlooker. His eyes grew wide with recognition.

"Oh... my... god... it's Shepard!" exclaimed the young man, leaping to his feet. All heads immediately turn towards the spectator, gasps of recognition and excitement rising above the rhythm of the music. The dancer stopped and stiffened visibly upon hearing the name. All of the men rose to their feet. "Man..." "I can't believe it's you!" "Shepard!" "Oh my god..." "In the flesh!" "Wow..." "What the hell are you doing on this dump?" Several extended a hand, looking for a handshake, others called up their omni-tools hoping to get a vid taken with the legendary Commander, all oblivious to the fact that Shepard was still focused on the Asari.

Feeling Shepard's gaze on her, the young Asari covered her face with her hands and slowly turned around. Their eyes met. Shepard shook her head again and let out a little chuckle, her smirk widening. Lowering her hands to reveal an embarrassed smile, the Asari finally spoke.

"Hi, dad."

"Dad?" one of the men asked, looking to the young dancer, then over Shepard's shoulder, then back to Shepard. The comments stopped. Waves of realization spread across the faces of the men. "I, uh..." "Oh, shit, is that the time?" "It's not what you..." "We weren't..." "I should..." the men bumbled.

"You're excused, gentlemen," Shepard said, amused. As quickly as possible, they all dispersed, leaving the still-smirking Shepard and her Asari daughter alone.

"Does mom know?" the dancer meekly asked.

"Of course your mother knows, Alissondra. Your mother knows everything," Shepard remarked. "Though I'm not sure why she never thought to tell me." _Maybe sending me here WAS her way of telling me..._

"Maybe she just thought you'd get mad?" Alissondra hoped.

"I'm not mad, sweetie," Shepard countered.

Alissondra looked vaguely confused. "You're not?"

"Of course not," Shepard confirmed. "Given the kind of crap I got into when I was a kid, I've got no room to comment. You _are _22, still a kid even by human standards, but your mother and I trust you. So if you choose to drop out of school to dance on Omega, we'll suppor..."

"I didn't drop out!" Alissondra exclaimed. "Nashala and I took a semester off," she said, gesturing across the room. "We wanted to travel a little bit and Nashala said she knew someone on Omega who could get us jobs dancing. Give me some credit..."

Shepard smiled. _That's my girl..._

A powerful voice cut through the music. "There a problem here, Shepard? Or did you just come to remind my patrons that these girls have parents?"

Alissondra's eyes widened and she looked to the figure behind her father. "You know?" she asked meekly.

"Of course Aria knows, Alissondra. Aria knows everything," Shepard remarked, still facing her daughter. "She's almost as bad as your mother..."

"I hope you're not just here to scare off paying customers, Shepard..." Aria said.

"No, Aria, life just has its little bonuses. You and I have business to talk." Shepard took a step towards her daughter and beckoned her with one finger. Alissondra knelt down on the table. Shepard moved in and gently kissed her daughter's blue cheek. "We'll catch up once I'm done, sweetie," she whispered. With that, Shepard turned to face the queen of Omega. Aria, flanked by her omni-present guards, was clearly not warmed by the sight of the reunion of father and child.

"Shall we?" Shepard inquired, strolling past Aria towards the back of the club, where Aria's "throne room" was situated. "Have fun on the rest of your shift, sweetie!" she called behind her, giving a little wave.

"Yeah, like anyone's gonna wanna see me dance now..." Alissondra mumbled to herself.

Aria gave one last glance at Alissondra, briefly letting a smirk cross her face as she turned to catch up with Shepard. "You'd damn well better have something good for me, human."

Shepard strode past another Asari dancing on a table, surrounded by a small group of Turian and Batarians. "Good to see you, Nashala!" Shepard said in a sing-song voice, waving to her daughter's friend. "Say hi to your mother for me!" Nashala's eyes widened, as she suddenly found herself dancing for an empty table.

"Stop that!" Aria growled.

Shepard stopped at the base of the stairs in Aria's private room and turned around to find herself face-to-face with the Asari. Aria's face was a mask of well-controlled anger at the disrespect Shepard had shown her. The two stood there for a moment, letting the tension hang in the air between them. Finally Aria turned to ascend the stairs.

"I hope you don't think that just because she's the daughter of the saviors of the galaxy, I'm going to waste any resources looking out for her," Aria said coolly, taking her seat on the couch. "I'm not your fucking babysitter."

"Of course not," Shepard responded matter-of-factly. She moved to follow Aria. "She's the daughter of the saviors of the galaxy, she can take care of herself." Shepard sat on the section of the couch adjacent to Aria. Aria kept her eyes on the Spectre, clearly unimpressed by her remarks. Shepard leaned forward, placing her elbows on her knees. "So..." she said. "Let's get down to business."


End file.
